What role are private organizations going to play tomorrow in the field of health?
Health care-almost exclusively a private affair in earlier times-is now more and more influenced by public administration. The role of the private organizations and with it the role of the health leagues has changed, but their importance remains. Motivation is stronger among volunteers, and services are more easily adapted to specific needs. Personal-also financial-engagement is a needed basis for many preventive actions, and public interventions should ideally be kept to a necessary minimum. Finally, private organizations are more ready and able to try new approaches and respond to changing needs. Their potential for innovation and flexibility will guarantee the persistence of their action within the Swiss health system, also in a future characterized by increasingly rapid change.
